Degree outcomes
Age: In 2016-17, 79 per cent of young graduates gained a first or upper second class degree, compared with 67 per cent of mature graduates.
This shows a slight increase from 2013-14 figures of 75 per cent of young graduates and 64 per cent of mature graduates.
Sex: More female students than male students gained a first or upper second class degree: 81 per cent of female graduates compared with 76 per cent of male graduates.
Disability: The gap between graduates without a disability and graduates in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) remained at three percentage points from 2013-14. The same gap exists between disabled graduates not in receipt of DSA and those without a disability (three percentage points since 2013-14).
Ethnicity: There has been a small decrease in the difference in outcomes between graduates of different ethnicities between 2013-14 and 2016-17. The highest proportion gaining a first or upper second class degree was white graduates with 82 per cent. The lowest proportion was black graduates with only 60 per cent. Among Asian graduates, the proportion gaining a first or upper second class degree is 72 per cent.
The difference between the proportions of white and black graduates has decreased from 23 percentage points in 2013-14 to 22 percentage points in 2016-17. The difference between proportions of white and Asian graduates has reduced from 12 percentage points in 2013-14 to 11 percentage points in 2016-17.
Educational disadvantage: The gap between Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) quintiles 1 and 5 gaining a first or upper second class degree has remained at 10 percentage points since 2013-14. The gaps between all other quintiles have also remained comparatively stable over this time.
